


Between a Deserted Rock and a Hard Place

by airshipcity



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ellimist Shenanigans, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 14:48:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11557434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airshipcity/pseuds/airshipcity
Summary: David gets a second chance from the Ellimist, provided he doesn't continue throwing wrenches in the works. The Animorphs are skeptical. David realizes returning to the human life is a little harder than expected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a Tumblr post, except it balled on and on and now it's an entire thing of David returning instead of a silly one-shot about David licking himself. As usual, thanks, Kendra.

For the Ellimist, it had only been an impulse born from mild curiosity, but for David, it had changed absolutely everything.

He'd been given a choice. The Ellimist, though David didn't have reason to know about him at all, had offered him two options - he could stay a rat, and hope someone would find him, or he could rejoin the fight as a human, back at the mainland and seeking out the Animorphs again. But if he attempted to exact vengeance rather than accept it as a second chance for all of them, himself included, the Ellimist would reset his place in the timeline to his rat form at the deserted rock he'd found himself on.

There was really only one choice, as far as David was concerned. Anything but this. Anything would do.

Even if it meant crawling back.

He could have cried when he woke up the next day in his old clothes, the ones he'd worn when he last saw his human form. His hands were his own. The face in the mirror of the nearest gas station was his own, looking back at him, though he was hungry and skittish and still desperate for human interaction.

Once he'd properly gotten to his senses, but not before having scared the poor gas station attendant half to death with his somewhat distraught manners, he'd headed back into town. He knew where to find them, after all - all he had to do was catch them after school, or in the barn.

The barn was easiest. The barn was despicably familiar. So was Cassie's voice, the split second before she slammed a hand over her mouth to avoid anyone hearing her scream.

"Don't tell anyone," he warned, stepping out from behind the panel he'd been behind. "We need to talk."

Cassie was visibly trembling, but she drew deep breaths, remaining in her spot. Finally, after a particularly long drag of air, she took a few steps closer. She looked careful, wary, but ultimately in control. It was the way he'd seen her act around the wounded animals.

Infuriating.

"Don't," he repeated. "Don't look at me like that, okay?! You guys trapped me. You didn't even have the guts to kill me and end the misery there. If it hadn't been for that weird old guy, I'd still be there."

Cassie stopped walking towards him, frowning. "Old man...?" Then, realization appeared to dawn on her. "Oh, no. Did the Ellimist...?"

"I didn't ask his name," David lied. "Who are you talking about? Do you know him?"

"It's easier to explain if I can get the others here," Cassie said. "Please? I really should tell them."

She sounded pained. Sweet, sweet Cassie. She'd been the only one who'd given him a fair chance. The only one of them who'd actually been kind to him.

"We'll talk first," David said. "After that, sure. I'd like to have a chat with them anyway."

Cassie didn't look remotely reassured by this, but she straightened up a little bit, her features softening slightly. "... Of course, David. Just... promise you won't do anything rash again."

"Like what?" He stepped out from behind the divider, leg brushing against a cage with... some wounded animal or other inside, probably. Cassie maintained eye contact with him, for what it was worth. Like she couldn't imagine taking her eyes off him for even a second until they'd talked.

Good.

"David," she murmured. "I... I'm so sorry. You realise why we did it, don't you? To protect ourselves?"

He'd had more than enough time to reflect. Just because he understood didn't mean he had to acknowledge it, so David remained silent.

Cassie's lip was trembling. "It must've been horrible. We only wanted to be safe, and you... you weren't safe to be around. We couldn't take the risk, David, I'm sorry. Please tell me you understand."

"Why?" he hissed, taking another few steps closer, and the sounds of a bird's wings fluttered nearby. They were only meters away, and Cassie looked on the verge of tears. He didn't plan to upset her, but he deserved the apology, didn't he? The least he could do was let her finish, especially if she'd really been as bothered as she sounded.

"I don't expect you to forgive what we did," she whispered. "I just hope you understand. I can't tell the others to come unless I know you won't... won't punish us for what we did to you. Please."

"You only did what you had to do. If I were to get anyone back... it would be Rachel, of course. Marco. Jake, probably. You? You're too good for these assholes."

That was, apparently, the last straw. Cassie burst into tears, a grimace that very nearly reflected his own agony back on the deserted rock - muttering incoherently as though she was blaming herself - and it was too much, even for David. He couldn't watch this suffering, not when he knew suffering so well himself by now. Not when he was supposed to try again, or end up back in hell at the Ellimist's judgment.

Whether it was panic or a rare case of empathy, David closed the distance and pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her back until she stopped twitching in apparent fear, murmuring that he didn't hate her, didn't blame her.

"I'm sorry," Cassie repeated against his shoulder, over and over once she'd begun calming down. It felt as though a small eternity had passed while her tears wet his already somewhat ragged shirt, but part of him relished in the human contact he'd craved for weeks on that island. "I'm so sorry."

"I know," he said. "I'm not here for revenge. Not if you can give me a second chance, too."

"We'll have to see about that," a voice said from the doorway of the barn. David froze, head jerking up to see who it was, and Cassie scrambled out of his arms to compose herself and wipe her face. In the doorway, looking righteously pissed as well as incredibly confused, was Jake, with Tobias fluttering behind him and Ax scraping his hooves disdainfully with his tailblade at the ready.

David pursed his lips, anxiously smoothing down the front of his shirt. "How did you get here so fast?" he asked, tense as a wire.

"Tobias," Jake said, as though that explained everything, which it did. "And I'll be asking the questions for a bit, I think. How are you here?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," David responded with a grimace. "Where's the other two?"

"I said I'll ask the questions," Jake said flatly. "Ax?"

In a matter of second, David found himself all but pinned to the divider wall, blade at his throat and many-fingered hands restraining his arms. He scowled, trying to resist the urge to spit Ax in the face.

Great a display as it would've been, it probably wouldn't earn him any points in this attempt at parlay. Reluctantly, David gave in, ceasing his struggle.

Jake stopped by Cassie, who bit her lip and quietly confirmed that she was okay, really, he hadn't done anything to her. At least someone was on his side, David thought.

Finally, Jake came closer to David, though at a few arm's lengths. He would've looked menacing, if not for the fear and confusion David could see in his eyes.

"How are you here?" he asked. There was a certain dangerous texture to his tone, grave and firm. There was no more room for jokes or spite.

"The Ellimist. Is that what you called him, Cassie?" David responded, eyes flickering behind Jake to meet Cassie's again, but she didn't seem willing to look quite back at him. She nodded, though, and it was clear that Jake also knew about this entity.

"So he brought you back? Why?"

"To come find you guys again," David said. It was the truth, after all, and he didn't have anything to lose by telling it in this case.

Ax didn't appear quite as satisfied, inching the blade ever closer. <I don't see why he'd bring back scum like you when we'd already made it quite clear you have no position among us.>

"Even so," Jake conceded, "we should at least hear him out. Whatever happened or not, the fact of the matter is that he's here now. That's something we have to deal with regardless."

"So will you keep the mad alien from threatening my life?" David said. He would've squirmed, if he hadn't been frozen to the spot.

"Can you still morph?" Jake said, ignoring his question. David flecked his teeth.

"Haven't tried." So he did.

Nothing happened, though. He concentrated, searched for the right form in his DNA... but there was nothing but his own. Whatever he tried, he remained a human.

Trying to morph and not being able to wasn't a hard feeling to recognise after the month of hell he'd spent doing the very same thing. Within half a minute, he gave Jake a rueful look.

"So you're... just a regular guy again," Jake summarised. He sounded thoughtful. "You can't hurt us with morphing, at the very least."

<Unless he's faking,> Tobias suggested from atop a railing. <He could just as well be trying to lure us into a trap here. Getting us all together, thinking he can't morph, and then he does before we can do anything about it.>

<Not on my watch,> Ax threatened, tailblade twitching uncomfortably by David's neck. <Prince Jake, with your permission, may I dissuade him if he attempts to morph?>

"Sure," Jake said, with an ease that left David remarkably uncomfortable. Was this how they'd discussed his demise? With cold, calculated cruelty? "But for now... Cassie, do you think we should trust him?"

She was quiet for a few moments, still looking away. Then she looked back at the three of them, biting her lip. "I don't think he's here to hurt us. Not today."

"Let him go, Ax," Jake said.

When the tailblade had finally retracted, it was as though a switch flipped. From frozen still one second, he seemed to nearly collapse in on himself, dodging down and hiding behind the divider wall in a corner, scrambling past the cage and tipping it over, to the displeasure of what sounded like a weak otter.

It took a good handful of seconds before he saw Cassie's face slowly appearing in the light, squinting until she found his form in the shadow, huddled between hay and old bandages. Once she did, her face went from concern to full-blown worry, and she kneeled down to his level - his heart was beating fast, so fast, he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it until now. He was terrified. Now that he had a chance at survival in his own body again, the threat of death was no longer remotely appealing.

"Oh, David," she whispered. "We're not going to hurt you, I promise. As long as you don't hurt us. You wanted a second chance, right?" Her voice was soothing, gentle, practised but sincere. It helped, a little. "It's just precautions, David. We don't want to be burnt again. We just need to talk with everyone, and then we'll find out where to go from there. Will you give us that chance, David?"

Slowly, he unfurled himself, tensions seeping out of his muscles as Cassie spoke, and he looked down, nearly ashamed of himself.

"And what happens if your 'democratic vote' says I don't get that chance?"

"Then we take it from there," Cassie repeated. "I want to believe that you're willing to try again, with blank sheets. Can I believe that?"

As if he really had a choice in the matter. But even rejoining the group that had personally judged and condemned him to hell seemed a better option than returning to where their previous decisions had led him.

David gave her a minute nod, and Cassie stretched out a hand to him.

Once his body allowed it, he reached up towards her, carefully, and took her hand, letting her pull him up to his feet. She smiled, a timid and nervous smile, but she was already making an effort to reassure him. He swallowed and nodded at her, making his way to a nearby haystack to sit on while studiously ignoring the other three Animorphs present until the others could join in.

After ten solid minutes of awkwardness, Rachel and Marco appeared in the doorway to the barn, and while David took little pleasure in seeing them again, there was a certain satisfaction in watching their faces flicker through a thousand expressions as they laid eyes on him for the first time in over a month.

He'd expected Rachel to be the angry one, but once she truly realised who she was looking at, she looked absolutely terrified. Marco, on the other hand, was frantic, nearly yelling.

"How did you get back? How did you turn back? Jake, what's going on?!"

"Apparently, the Ellimist keeps involving himself with us," Jake responded, though he sounded tense and terse. Marco gave David a look of utmost suspicion, keeping a solid distance. Rachel still hadn't moved from the doorway, her spooked silhouette matching the elongated shadow that nearly reached to where David was sitting. It was tempting to rile her up, to truly mess with her, to give her a taste of the desperation and madness he'd felt.

But it would mean going back, if the Ellimist meant what he'd said. Instead, he settled for leaning back with his hands behind his head, making himself almost comfortable. He'd slept in this barn before, after all. (And it wasn't as though he had a home anymore, as they'd kindly reminded him several times over.) He looked at Marco and Rachel in turn.

"Missed me?"


	2. Chapter 2

"So David's back," Jake concluded. With everyone finally in place, it didn't take too long for David and Cassie to explain what had happened, with what the two of them could puzzle together out loud. Rachel's lips had been pressed tightly together the whole time, and even Marco kept his thoughts to himself as they talked, though David had no doubt he had plenty to say.

"The question is, what do we do with this?"

Cassie spoke up again. "Well, the Ellimist clearly wants him to fight with us, right? And David hasn't done anything bad this time."

"He did plenty just a month ago," Marco reminded her, looking kind of sour. "Remember that? When he tried to systematicaly pick us off? That was great. Can't wait for round two. Hey, Tobias, wanna come down here and see how long David can keep his hands to himself?"

<No thanks.>

"There you go."

Jake gave Marco a look, one hat even David had come to recognise as one that could silence even him. But Jake didn't look entirely as though he disagreed.

"So let me get this straight," Rachel said. She was unusually quiet - she hadn't spoken since she arrived, other than the occasional hissed whisper to Jake or Cassie, but now that she'd had time to wrap her head around his presence, she seemed more assured of herself again. "If he does anything to actively endanger us or our missions, the Ellimist will just..." She snapped her fingers. "Back to rat island with him?"

"If he's telling the truth," Jake said, "then yeah, that sounds about right."

"Shame the Ellimist never left us a phone number," Marco said. "It'd make situations like these a lot easier to deal with. Hey, Ellimist? Flash the barn lights once if he's telling the truth and twice if he's a stinky liar."

The lights above gave no indication of either case. Marco sighed ruefully. "Never when we need him."

"I think we should give him a chance," Cassie said. The others all turned to look at her. She looked around, metting everyone's eyes in turn.

"If he wanted to get revenge, there's no reason he wouldn't just have gotten started already. But he came here and asked for a second chance, even after what we did to him." Her voice shook lightly at the last part. David looked away. "And there's no reason he'd know about the Ellimist if he hadn't been the one responsible for sending David back, right?"

"I suppose," Marco admitted. "But that doesn't change the fact that David tried to kill us."

"And he's done more than his share of suffering to make up for it," Cassie argued. "We left him on a deserted rock of an island, for god's sake, as a _rat_. He nearly had a panic attack earlier here."

"Thanks," David responded sarcastically. "Just air that out for everyone, go ahead."

"I'm trying to be on your side," Cassie said, patient as a saint. "You're as human as the rest of us, that's all I'm saying. You got your punishment. I think it's admirable that you're willing to try to make up for it, even if it's not one hundred percent by your own choice. You could've gone for one of our throats before the Ellimist had stopped you, but you came to us in peace."

David didn't say anything to that. Nor did the other Animorphs, for an uncomfortably long time. Nervous, David licked at the back of his hands, smoothing them over his hair.

That was clearly the last straw for Marco. "Oh my god. He just licked himself. Everyone saw that just now, right? That's not human, Cassie, that's someone who's been a rat for too long."

<I take offense to that,> Tobias supplied. <You know perfectly well that I'm absolutely useless in my human form these days, but that doesn't mean I'm any worse a member, does it?>

"That's different," Marco snapped. "Okay, you're bad at being a human, but you're a kickass hawk. David's bad at being a human and doesn't have any other options on hand."

"He could," Rachel said.

Wait. _Rachel_ said?

She shrugged at the incredulous gazes. "We still have the blue box. If we decide to give him that second chance, we might as well give him the power to morph again, or he's just dead weight." She paused. " _If_ we do. I'm not saying we should, but if we do, we're going to have a sixth ranger again."

<And give him the opportunity to be as dangerous as before again?> Ax snapped.

Cassie shook her head. "And give him the opportunity to prove he's worthy of the second chance. Rachel's right. We really only have two options. We take him back in and make him an Animorph again, or... we don't. And if we don't, someone's going to have to decide what that means for him."

"Any last arguments?" Jake asked.

"I think he's telling the truth," Cassie said. "I'm willing to take that risk, and he knows what we're capable of doing if he doesn't behave. Even if the Ellimist doesn't interfere if he tries something, we've beaten him before."

<I don't trust him,> Ax said. <If he wants to be part of this team again, he'll have to work to earn that trust. Last time, he didn't. This time, if he doesn't pull his weight, I will personally deal with him.>

"And I think he's batshit," Marco said. "But I guess people can change. I hope he's not going to be the end of us, I really do, but I'm with Ax. He'll have to prove it."

Jake nodded. "Rachel?"

"Sure. Whatever. I promise not to murder him unless he gives me reason to."

"Good enough for me," Jake said tiredly. "So, hands up. Who thinks we should keep David under watch, and give him the morphing power when we're comfortable trusting him with it again?"

Cassie's hand, predictably, went up first. Jake followed, then Marco and Rachel after a pause. Ax reluctantly lifted one hand, and Tobias simply preened his feathers.

<Pass.>

"Hey. Don't I get a say in this?" David said, breaking the silence. "Where do you plan on me staying? How long do I have to wait? How am I supposed to prove anything without getting to morph?"

"You can stay in the barn again, can't you?" Jake said. David sneered.

"You know damn well how I feel about that."

"I hear there's a comfortable rock out by the water," Marco supplied. "View's great, too."

"Don't," David warned. Marco held both hands up, in a half-hearted defensive gesture.

"Just saying, you're not exactly in the position to negotiate maximum comfort here."

Jake sighed, giving David an almost pitying look. "Sorry, David, but he's right. I'd rather you're somewhere safe where we can keep an eye on you, and honestly, the barn is already a lot more freedom than we should be offering you at this point."

"I'll bring out blankets and a pillow," Cassie said, laying a hand on his shoulder. David flinched. "I'll even bring out some books and magazines, if you want. It's just until we find a better option, but the Controllers might still be looking for you. This is for your safety, too."

<I know a nice grove out in the forest if the walls and roof aren't to your liking,> Tobias said lightly. <Really, you've got it too good.>

"Fine!" David huffed. "Fine. I'll sleep in the barn. For now. But you guys better include me in meetings and stuff like that. If I can't come on missions, I want to at least know what's going on."

"Who said you won't be coming on missions?" Jake said, suppressing a smile.

"You've got to be kidding," Marco and David said in perfect unison.


End file.
